Luvsbway Posted July 8, 2013 Report Share Posted July 8, 2013 Wonderful discussion on Ann as Mame and also Ann herself. Great stories. http://broadwayworld.com/board/readmessage.php?thread=1062013&dt=18 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryCarter Posted July 8, 2013 Report Share Posted July 8, 2013 I love Ann Miller anecdotes! I never heard the Rodgers & Hammerstein one before. That's great. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C L A U D E Posted July 8, 2013 Report Share Posted July 8, 2013 Wonderful discussion on Ann as Mame and also Ann herself. Great stories. http://broadwayworld...d=1062013&dt=18 W O W , those were great to read Shel, got any more? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Neil Posted July 9, 2013 Report Share Posted July 9, 2013 "ETA Nobody has yet mentioned that her run as "Mame" ended when a sandbag (or light or something depending on who told the story) was accidentally dropped on her head." Assume the above incident caused the "Mame" run to end because there was a sandbag shortage and they couldn't replace it, because SURELY in a collision with Ann's hair, any object would be ruined.... Have you checked out the Punchy Players take-offs on Ann. Hilarious as always. In one, Judy and Liza do an intervention because Ann is a hoarder. In another, Ann is "picking up some hours" as a Piggly-Wiggle checker because "they stopped making tap movies." The PP voices are always so right-on including Ann's slightly off pronunciation of Cole Porter's last name. "Judy, we're havin' a special on sauerkraut." 2 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
JoeySanJoaquin Posted July 9, 2013 Report Share Posted July 9, 2013 Assume the above incident caused the "Mame" run to end because there was a sandbag shortage and they couldn't replace it, because SURELY in a collision with Ann's hair, any object would be ruined.... :lucyhaha: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C L A U D E Posted July 9, 2013 Report Share Posted July 9, 2013 Assume the above incident caused the "Mame" run to end because there was a sandbag shortage and they couldn't replace it, because SURELY in a collision with Ann's hair, any object would be ruined.... Loved your hair remark, nancy reagan must have gotten tips from her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brock Posted July 9, 2013 Report Share Posted July 9, 2013 "Judy, we're havin' a special on sauerkraut." "But'cha gotta keep the lid on it because it smells like garbage. Worse than Esther Williams' swimming pool -- which reminds me of the time that she and Cole P'rter and I went bowling..." Okay, which one of you bought this masterpiece? http://www.juliensli...d/66/lot/24526/ Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryCarter Posted July 9, 2013 Report Share Posted July 9, 2013 Okay, which one of you bought this masterpiece? http://www.juliensli...d/66/lot/24526/ That reminds me of that scary Here's Lucy opening doll recreation auctioned off in Jamestown one year. I love how many wigs were included in the Ann Miller auction. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C L A U D E Posted July 9, 2013 Report Share Posted July 9, 2013 "But'cha gotta keep the lid on it because it smells like garbage. Worse than Esther Williams' swimming pool -- which reminds me of the time that she and Cole P'rter and I went bowling..." Okay, which one of you bought this masterpiece? http://www.juliensli...d/66/lot/24526/ Is she bent over because of the weight of her hair? Great paperweight though. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Irene Kampen Tripp Posted July 10, 2013 Report Share Posted July 10, 2013 Those guys at Punchy Players crack me up.. anytime Ann makes an appearance in any video it is a joy!!! "Heather over there with her blue jeans and tattoos an piercings... NO GLAMOUR!"... kills me every time. Ann is a bit on the ignorant side isn't she? She really kinda lives in her own little world.. I think many from those MGM days lived in their own little world... nonetheless.. she is awesome.. anyone remember that GREAT AMERICAN SOUP commercial with Ann? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brock Posted July 10, 2013 Report Share Posted July 10, 2013 Once seen, never forgotten: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryCarter Posted July 10, 2013 Report Share Posted July 10, 2013 Robert Osborne wrote a great tribute to Ann when she passed away: http://www.reelclassics.com/Actresses/Ann_Miller/annmiller-article.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C L A U D E Posted July 10, 2013 Report Share Posted July 10, 2013 Once seen, never forgotten: O M G so great to see that one again, I remember it well. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C L A U D E Posted July 10, 2013 Report Share Posted July 10, 2013 O M G so great to see that one again, I remember it well. I watched another clip that played afterwards and it was a bit hard to see her struggle through I'M STILL HERE, but even with a few false notes, and all, seeing a superstar like Ann, or Lucy, or Marlene or even Judy, at the end of their illustrious careers, doesn't matter at all, because you're watching an incredible STAR with all that STAR power and that's really all that matters in the end. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvsbway Posted July 10, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2013 I loved the SNL skits Leg Up, with Ann and Debbie Reynolds. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryCarter Posted July 10, 2013 Report Share Posted July 10, 2013 I love Ann Miller's version of I'm Still Here. That is her life in song. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvsbway Posted July 10, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2013 When I did Bway radio in college this was my co-hosts version of choice for this song. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryCarter Posted July 10, 2013 Report Share Posted July 10, 2013 When I did Bway radio in college this was my co-hosts version of choice for this song. Good choice. I really love the renditions performed in the context of the show done by women who really lived what happened in the song like Ann, Polly Bergen, and Yvonne DeCarlo. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Luvsbway Posted July 10, 2013 Author Report Share Posted July 10, 2013 Did you see Elaine in the most recent Follies. I heard so many reports of her forgetting the words but she was perfect when I saw her. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryCarter Posted July 10, 2013 Report Share Posted July 10, 2013 Did you see Elaine in the most recent Follies. I heard so many reports of her forgetting the words but she was perfect when I saw her. I did! She knew all the words when I saw it and I saw it pretty early in the run. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C L A U D E Posted July 10, 2013 Report Share Posted July 10, 2013 Did you see Elaine in the most recent Follies. I heard so many reports of her forgetting the words but she was perfect when I saw her. Just watched the video of it and nobody can touch Elaine. Others might have LIVED the song, but she IS the song. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HarryCarter Posted July 11, 2013 Report Share Posted July 11, 2013 Just watched the video of it and nobody can touch Elaine. Others might have LIVED the song, but she IS the song. I'm sure you're referring to Elaine Stritch, but we were actually talking about Elaine Paige who played the role of Carlotta in the most recent production of Follies and sang I'm Still Here. I love Stritch's version, as well as Carol Burnett's and Nancy Walker's. These three ladies, however, performed the song in concert and not in a production of Follies like Ann, Polly, and Yvonne. Ann Miller said that everything mentioned in the song happened to her with the exception of smoking reefers and being called a Communist. Sondheim wrote the song especially for Yvonne DeCarlo and Yvonne told people it was based on her life, but Sondheim actually was thinking of Joan Crawford when he wrote it. The line "first you're another sloe eyes vamp / then someone's mother / then you're camp" fits them perfectly. "I'm Still Here" originally featured the line "I survived Brenda Frazier," referring to Desi's friend, the most famous debutante of the Depression era. Eventually the line was changed to "Shirley Temple" because it was thought that nobody would remember who Brenda Frazier was. When Ann Miller did Follies in 1998, they decided to use the original line and in rehearsals Sondheim started to explain to her who Brenda Frazier was. Ann cut him off saying, "Honey, I knew Brenda Frazier!" Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C L A U D E Posted July 11, 2013 Report Share Posted July 11, 2013 I'm sure you're referring to Elaine Stritch, but we were actually talking about Elaine Paige who played the role of Carlotta in the most recent production of Follies and sang I'm Still Here. I love Stritch's version, as well as Carol Burnett's and Nancy Walker's. These three ladies, however, performed the song in concert and not in a production of Follies like Ann, Polly, and Yvonne. Ann Miller said that everything mentioned in the song happened to her with the exception of smoking reefers and being called a Communist. Sondheim wrote the song especially for Yvonne DeCarlo and Yvonne told people it was based on her life, but Sondheim actually was thinking of Joan Crawford when he wrote it. The line "first you're another sloe eyes vamp / then someone's mother / then you're camp" fits them perfectly. "I'm Still Here" originally featured the line "I survived Brenda Frazier," referring to Desi's friend, the most famous debutante of the Depression era. Eventually the line was changed to "Shirley Temple" because it was thought that nobody would remember who Brenda Frazier was. When Ann Miller did Follies in 1998, they decided to use the original line and in rehearsals Sondheim started to explain to her who Brenda Frazier was. Ann cut him off saying, "Honey, I knew Brenda Frazier!" I'm sure you're referring to Elaine Stritch, but we were actually talking about Elaine Paige who played the role of Carlotta in the most recent production of Follies and sang I'm Still Here. I love Stritch's version, as well as Carol Burnett's and Nancy Walker's. These three ladies, however, performed the song in concert and not in a production of Follies like Ann, Polly, and Yvonne. Ann Miller said that everything mentioned in the song happened to her with the exception of smoking reefers and being called a Communist. Sondheim wrote the song especially for Yvonne DeCarlo and Yvonne told people it was based on her life, but Sondheim actually was thinking of Joan Crawford when he wrote it. The line "first you're another sloe eyes vamp / then someone's mother / then you're camp" fits them perfectly. "I'm Still Here" originally featured the line "I survived Brenda Frazier," referring to Desi's friend, the most famous debutante of the Depression era. Eventually the line was changed to "Shirley Temple" because it was thought that nobody would remember who Brenda Frazier was. When Ann Miller did Follies in 1998, they decided to use the original line and in rehearsals Sondheim started to explain to her who Brenda Frazier was. Ann cut him off saying, "Honey, I knew Brenda Frazier!" As soon as I heard the name, I remembered Desi mentioning her in his BOOK. Wasn't she a New York City socialite? I loved Ann's version, but she seemed to be a bit ill at ease and maybe struggling with the song a bit, Ann's a better dancer than singer. BUT, maybe she was acting it out and showing the emotion of someone talking about their hard life, so maybe i'm wrong. There's no denying that Elaine Stritch is even worse at singing, but is such a great PERFORMER that like Armstrong and Chevalier and Dietrich, she conveys the songs so beautifully that you can overlook the sometimes off key, or difficulty in reaching the notes. Some STARS, like Elaine and Ann are just bigger than their material. Not talking about this song though, it's a real gem. Wasn't Shirley MacLaine's version in POSTCARDS FROM THE EDGE a lot shorter? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
C L A U D E Posted July 11, 2013 Report Share Posted July 11, 2013 As soon as I heard the name, I remembered Desi mentioning her in his BOOK. Wasn't she a New York City socialite? I loved Ann's version, but she seemed to be a bit ill at ease and maybe struggling with the song a bit, Ann's a better dancer than singer. BUT, maybe she was acting it out and showing the emotion of someone talking about their hard life, so maybe i'm wrong. There's no denying that Elaine Stritch is even worse at singing, but is such a great PERFORMER that like Armstrong and Chevalier and Dietrich, she conveys the songs so beautifully that you can overlook the sometimes off key, or difficulty in reaching the notes. Some STARS, like Elaine and Ann are just bigger than their material. Not talking about this song though, it's a real gem. Wasn't Shirley MacLaine's version in POSTCARDS FROM THE EDGE a lot shorter? I've never been that big a fan of Elaine PAIGE, saw her in the CATS road company here doing MEMORY and i'm sorry, nobody can do that song as well as it's originator, Betty Buckley. Or at least that one major part that gives you chills up and down the spine. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Brock Posted July 11, 2013 Report Share Posted July 11, 2013 Wasn't she a New York City socialite? Yes, but if memory serves she was Canadian by birth and came from Bank of Montreal money. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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